Love and Bombs
by gibbsrossi
Summary: Gibbs is in love again...a bomb threatens everbody...not good a summaries. Hope you all enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**Jessica**

Gibbs was falling in love again. No he thought, scratch that, he had fallen in love. He sat in his basement sipping his jug of whiskey contemplating the unthinkable. It was unthinkable for him, he had had many affairs and had married three more times after Shannon, but none of them had been love, of that he was sure. He cared for all the women he had been involved with, cared for some of them deeply, but love. No he was sure that the only woman he had truly loved was Shannon; that was until now. She had become part of his life, part of his being. He could not imagine his life without her presence, without her soft voice, her gentle laugh. He had not felt like this since Shannon and it scared the hell out of him. The ring of his cell phone brought him from his reverie.

"Yeah… Gibbs." He answered in his usual manner.

"Agent Gibbs, you are requested to report to the Directors office as soon as possible." The voice on the other side of the line said.

"Right." Gibbs responded slapping the phone closed without saying anything further.

Gibbs stood and placed the half finished jug of whiskey on the table. Making his way up the stairs to the main bedroom he gazed at the woman lying on the bed taking in the the beauty of face. He walked silently to the side of the bed and bent down to kiss her gently on the forehead. The woman stirred slightly then opened one sleepy eye.

'I got to go…just got a call." He whispered into her ear his face inches from hers.

"Mmmm, Ok…just be careful and come back to me…" She smiled and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

'I will." He confirmed kissing her again before making his way to the door. He stopped and turned back to look at her once more. She was beautiful he thought a slight smile on his lips. "I love you Jessica." He whispered before turning and heading out.

"I love you too Jethro…" He heard coming from the bedroom as he picked up his keys and left the house.

**NCIS**

He arrived at the office walking out of the elevator to see his entire team assembled waiting in anticipation to find out why they had been called in at this ungodly hour of the morning. He barely acknowledged their presence as he passed them and made his way up the stairs to the Directors office.

Director Vance sat at his desk talking quietly to the men who were seated around the room; it was obvious that they had been awaiting his arrival.

"Now that we are all here I'll get strait to the point." Vance stated as his most senior agent sat down before him. The need for introductions were not necessary, all of these men had worked with each other at some time in their careers.

"I have received information that there is an imminent terrorist threat to the Washington DC area." Vance said, his statement causing little to no effect on the men before him. They were all seasoned veterans, either FBI; CIA; NSA and of course from his own agency NCIS.

"What kind of threat?" Fornell from the FBI asked for all of them.

"We have reason to believe that there is a nuclear device armed and ready to deploy." Vance replied. This did bring a response in the form of raised eyebrows and each of the four men sat up rigidly in their chairs.

"How reliable is the information?" Gibbs asked watching his Director closely.

"Reliable." Vance replied.

"So we are working this interagency?" Fornell asked.

"That is correct Agent Fornell. NCIS will take point as our assets gave us the intel and hopefully will continue to be able to give us updates." Vance paused, he could see that the men other than his agent were about to protest so he continued before they could. "Your Directors have already agreed to this. Gentlemen if we are going to get through this we are all going to have to work together and work quickly." Vance said looking at each of them before continuing. "Agent Gibbs will be lead, but we are going to need all the resources and abilities each of our agencies can give. Am I going to have any problems gentlemen?" Vance finished.

"No sir." Agent John Carter from the CIA responded immediately, he knew Gibbs and had worked with him before as had Agent Ben Zimmerman from the NSA. Fornell was a good friend of Gibbs and his working with him without problems went without saying. "What information do we have sir?" He asked Vance after watching each of the other two men nod in agreement with him.

"Good." Vance said rising from his seat and approaching the screen that was hanging from the far wall in his office. The men all moved so that they could have a clear view, all of them waiting to hear the full report.

"Right; our intel is that a 'hot' nuclear device was brought into the country about five days ago. We believe this man…" Vance pointed to the image of a young Arabic man on the screen, "Abdul Ul Zak is responsible for bringing it in. He is an Islamic Fundamentalist who will have no qualms in detonating a nuclear weapon. We do not know his current whereabouts however it is presumed that he has holed up somewhere in the Washington area. This man…" Vance brought up the image of an older Caucasian male, "Christopher Jenkins is the man responsible for building the device. Christopher is a nuclear physicist who enjoys the good life and will sell his skills to anybody. He used to be on our payroll until he stole a store of weapons grade plutonium and then disappeared into the underground selling his product to the highest bidder. Now we know that the bomb is here, what we don't know is where and when they plan to detonate."

"What size?" Carter asked as he memorized every feature on both the men displayed on screen.

"Of that we are not sure, but it is nuclear so size does not matter." Vance said ominously.

"Where do we start? Did your assets give any indication of where we can find either of these men?" Zimmerman asked quietly.

"No, the only intel we have is that Christopher likes the high life, he is not going to sit holed up in some room somewhere. He is going to want to do what he does best, spend money."

"What makes us think that Christopher is still with Ul Zak, why would he not just arm the bomb and walk away?" Fornell questioned.

"Our intel is that the bomb had to be brought into the country in segments in order to avoid detection. They would need him to reassemble it and I don't think that Jenkins would allow Ul Zak the power of setting it off before he was well gone. So we are assuming that he has remained in the area in order to ensure his own safety."

"Sounds right, but sir, why would he stay after he had assembled the bomb, I would think that he would high tail it as far away as possible with his money before Ul Zak could detonate." Zimmerman reasoned.

"Good point Agent Zimmerman, however our intel is that for whatever reason he is with Ul Zak here in Washington." Vance replied.

"Well that's as good a place to start as any." Gibbs said as he stood up from his chair. "Anything else Director?" He asked before he headed for the door, the three men hard on his heels.

"No Agent Gibbs, just find this son-of-a-bitch before he blows my town to hell; and gentlemen this does not go beyond this agency, if and when you contact your people you make sure that they are kept in the dark, use whatever cover story you need but this does not get out. Make that clear to anybody you get working on the team. We cannot afford to cause a panic and if Ul Zak sees that the game is up he might detonate sooner than later." Each man nodded but before they left Vance added quietly, "I know we all have families or loved ones in the city, you cannot tell them or get them out of town. Are we clear?" Vance asked.

"Crystal" Gibbs said looking at his colleagues. Fornell had a family who lived in downtown Washington, the others too had families. He could see on their faces that they were going to get them out of town before Vance's instructions, now they would not, he hoped. His mind drifted to the woman lying sleeping peacefully in his bed and his heart cringed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**Jessica**

She woke with the blaring of the alarm clock. Reaching over she touched the button to bring the noise to a halt, then automatically she searched for his form but found the other side of the bed devoid of its occupant. She frowned slightly then remembered his leaving her in the early hours of the morning, something about a case that had come up. Sighing deeply she lay back in the bed. She was not sure if she would ever get used to the hours he worked. Rising from the bed she made her way to the bathroom to run her usual early morning bath and start her daily routine. Once she was dressed and ready for the day she went downstairs to the kitchen and put the kettle on. Sitting down at the table she dialed his number on her cell phone.

He picked up after three rings.

"Good Morning…" Jethro said softly caller ID having told him it was her on the other end of the line.

"Morning Jethro…I did not like waking up without you this morning." She pouted into the phone.

"Sorry my love but duty called…" Jethro replied. "You know I would never willingly leave you." He smiled.

"I know, I know… what time do you think you will be home tonight?" She asked getting up to switch the squealing kettle off.

"I don't know honey, this is a very complicated case and may take some time…I might not be home for a while." Jethro replied, he wanted to tell her to pack her things and get out of town, he wanted to tell her he may never be back but he could not, it was all he could do to try to keep his voice even and not to give away his absolute terror at perhaps losing her to some arbitrary terrorist who thought that detonating a nuclear bomb would solve his problems.

Jessica for her part could tell that he was hiding something and that he was afraid of something, but to her credit she did not pursue the matter. She loved him and trusted him and more times than she could count now she had been afraid for him, but that was the life she had chosen when she had taken the decision to commit herself to him.

"OK my love. You just keep safe and make sure that you DO come home to me." She said unable to keep the worry completely out of her voice.

"I will, nothing is going to keep me from doing that." Jethro promised.

The conversation ended with 'I love yous' to each other. Jessica finished her coffee, picked up her keys and left the house, headed for her job on Capitol Hill where she was an aide to one of the Senators.

**NCIS**

It had been seven hours since Jethro had gathered his team and some members of the other senior agents' teams in the briefing room and told them what was going on. Shock had registered on all their faces and then fear.

They had got to work looking for something, anything that could lead them to discover the whereabouts of the bomb. Each of them had their own contacts that they touched to try to gain information, of course all of them understood that they could not divulge the reason for their search for Christopher Jenkins and Abdul Ul Zak, and at times this became difficult, especially for Ziva when she contacted MOSAD and her father for help.

Finally it was Agent Tim MaGee who gave them their first lead. The computer genius had been scanning the financial records of Jenkins and had found that the man had purchased a luxury yacht that he had moored here in Washington. This it was decided that was the way he was going to leave the area once the bomb was armed and ready to detonate. Gibbs told DeNozzo and Williams, one of the team members from NSA to keep 24 hours surveillance on the yacht in case their man turned up. MaGee was instructed to continue looking for further links to Jenkins, Ziva was at the Israeli Embassy following up on some possible information that her father said he had. Gibbs and Fornell sat in the conference room along with Zimmerman and Carter discussing what leads they had and what they could do next. Hopefully they could find this Jenkins and then get Ul Zak's whereabouts from him.

Jenkins returned to his yacht four hours later. Tony and Williams were told not to approach or apprehend just to observe and tail him if he left. The four senior agents were out the door as Gibbs gave the telephonic instructions to his senior field agent. Twenty minutes later they pulled up at the marina and met with their watching crew.

"He hasn't left the yacht again boss." Special Agent Tony DeNozzo reported.

"Nor has anyone come aboard." Agent William of the NSA continued.

Gibbs thought for a moment, if he apprehended Jenkins now, Ul Zak might find out, think that his plot had been discovered and detonate the bomb. If he did not apprehend Jenkins and get Ul Zak's whereabouts out of him he may not find him in time and he detonates the bomb anyway.

"DeNozzo, Williams you two stay here, if he gets passed us stop him. We need him alive and able to talk so if you have to shoot him do it in a place that won't affect that." Gibbs said, drawing his gun and making his way as discreetly as possible towards the moored yacht. The other senior agents followed his lead walking towards the yacht guns drawn.

DeNozzo and Williams had not seen anybody get on the boat but that did not mean there was nobody onboard they could have boarded before NCIS had even found the damned thing, there might be a whole army of terrorist onboard. Not that Gibbs was afraid, well he was, he was afraid that they would have to kill Jenkins and then they would be back at square one, with no further leads. That scared him shitless.

There was no activity on board the yacht and Gibbs stepped on board carful to cover all possible angles of attack. The others followed silently. Gibbs entered the cabin scanning around the room quickly determining that nobody was in the room. He motioned the others in. At that moment they heard a noise from the bathroom area of the cabin, the door opened and Jenkins stepped out. Jenkins looked at the faces of the men before him all with guns drawn and he knew the game was up.

"Shit…" He said loudly then sat down heavily on one of the couches. "Shit, shit, shit…how the hell did you find me?" Jenkins asked as he lay back on the luxurious piece of furniture.

He must have thought that Gibbs and the rest were rookie agents that had just picked up their first case pulling a move like he was trying to do Gibbs thought as he suddenly and quickly narrowed the gap between him and Jenkins his finger on his trigger.

"Touch that weapon and you'll be wishing you hadn't." Gibbs said harshly. Fornell had moved to the side also seeing the game that Jenkins was playing, feigning his complete disgust at being caught but at the same time trying to get his hands on the hidden weapon behind one of the throw pillows on the couch. Zimmerman had moved and was suddenly behind the scientist placing the barrel of his gun against the man's head.

"Don't tempt me, I fail really easily…" Zimmerman smirked.

"OK, OK you got me…" Jenkins said raising his hands to show them that he did not pose a threat to them. "You got me…" He said quietly realizing that his life as he had known it was over.

**Jessica**

It had been a long morning. Senator George Benson, the man she worked for sat on the Senate Arms Committee and they were currently in session. Her morning was spent between the committee room and her office collecting all the data the Senator asked for during the session. Her mind wondered to Jethro, she knew him well enough now to know that something was seriously worrying him. This was not a normal case he was working on. Firstly he had never been called out at 3 am for any case, they had shifts that worked the night hours and would have picked up any case that came in and secondly she had heard the veiled fear in his voice when they had spoken that morning. She had not heard from him since then and briefly contemplated calling him; however she dismissed that thought almost immediately. '_No' _she said to herself '_he will call when he can'_ she was not going to disturb him especially as she believed that the case he had been called on must be very serious and urgent.

Her day continued uneventfully, the Senator going home as soon as the committee meetings were over leaving her to prepare his notes for the next days' sessions. At around 5pm she closed up the office and made her way home. Once there she checked if she had had any messages on her home phone, finding none she again checked her cell. Nothing, Jethro had not been in contact with her all day and now it was almost 6:30pm and still nothing. Should she call him she wondered. But again she thought better of the idea and went about making herself some dinner. As the clock ticked over to 11pm she laid her book down and reached over to turn out the light. She had been unable to stop herself from calling Jethro at about 9 but there had been no answer from him and he had still not returned her missed call. As she drifted off to sleep she wondered what kind of case could keep him from calling her even just to say goodnight.

**NCIS**

Jenkins sat in the interrogation room a smirk on his face as he watched Gibbs enter. He had been taken directly to NCIS headquarters once he was removed from the yacht and been placed in the room. He vaguely wondered how they were going to do this, good cop bad cop routine or had they come up with something different for him. He knew that the first thing he was going to do was ask for his lawyer and that should delay them some and then it would be his ball game once his high priced VERY good attorney arrived they would be in shit street and have to let him go.

"I want a lawyer." He said as Gibbs sat down opposite him.

"You are going to tell me were Abdul Ul Zak is and where the nuclear bomb you brought into the country is and you are going to do it now." Gibbs stated staring at the man his face dark with undisguised disgust.

"Didn't you hear me Agent Gibbs, I want a lawyer and I am not saying anything until he gets here." Jenkins said leaning forward towards Gibbs. "I am entitled to representation, and on that note, you have not read me my rights or anything." Jenkins said feeling very pleased with himself for thinking of that small technicality.

You have no rights. You are a terrorist and I don't have to let you speak to anyone EVER again. Now either you start talking or I will get the goons out there to come and fetch you to take you to your new holiday home at Guantanamo Bay." Gibbs said softly pursing his lips and shaking his head a satisfied smile appeared on his face as Jenkins registered Gibbs' words. And a small hint of fear started setting in "I have rights under the constitution…"

"You have only one hope and that is to tell us were Ul Zak is because if you don't…" Gibbs did not finish the sentence rather leaving it to the imagination of Jenkins. He could see the fear spreading, Jenkins was essentially a weak man who had always hidden behind his superior intellect, he had thought he was going to play the usual game with him, he would call his lawyer who would then talk legalese and get him released on bail and then he would skip town before Ul Zak blew the place. Now it was dawning on him that he was not in a position to dictate what happened to him using his lawyer and his rights as a platform, those were gone, he was in a game he could not win.

Fornell; Zimmerman and Carter saw this as the opportune time to enter the room, all of them armed with weapons drawn and all of them looking like they wanted to use them. Jenkins knew then for sure that he was lost; he thought for a moment and then blurted out that he had information but he needed immunity and protection if he were going to talk.

"Talk first, then we we'll see…" Gibbs said sitting back down in his chair as the other agents placed themselves around the table all of them bearing down on Jenkins.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**Jessica**

Jessica woke the next morning to a cold empty bed. She got up and started her normal routine, picking up her cell phone as her bathwater ran she dialled his number. Still no answer. Was he avoiding her, was he alright, had something happened to him? Nobody would know to inform her, he had not told anybody at NCIS of her, he had always been a private man and she respected that, he did not have to tell anybody ever as long as they were together, but... They had talked about him introducing her to his friend, Ducky or Dr Mallard, and Abby of course. She knew them well from what he had told her but they did not know her. He could be dead. Her heart lurched just at the thought that he might be. Should she phone NCIS headquarters to find out? No she could not do that, he would not want that.

She dialled his number again, this time leaving a message, telling him how much she loved him and that when he could, could he please contact her just to let her know he was OK. Closing the cell phone she sighed heavily before continued with her daily routine.

**NCIS **

It had been a long night getting the information out of Jenkins. He had been evasive at first but then had spilled his guts, telling them everything he knew, and that, unfortunately for Gibbs, did not include where Ul Zak or the bomb was. The arrangement with Ul Zak was that he would be contacted by the man when he was needed to arm the bomb. He was however sure that no other person could arm the device as he had put in special precautions so as to avoid Ul Zak being able to blow him up with everybody else and thereby tying up his loose ends. He was in this for the money not the ideology. Gibbs and the rest had taken turns grilling the man until they were sure there was no information left to give.

"How do we disarm the device?" Gibbs asked his final question.

"You don't…once it is armed there is no way to stop it." Jenkins said dejectedly.

Gibbs placed Jenkins' cell phone on the table. "When he calls you answer and make sure he does not suspect something is wrong…your life depends on it, understand.'

"I understand." Replied stoically.

Gibbs sat back, now all they could do was wait for the call to come. He was tired and now that the stress of the interview was done and he had time to reflect, he thought only of one thing. Jessica. He had not spoken to her since the previous morning when all this had started. She must be going out of her mind wondering what was going on, he knew she had called him many times, noting the list of missed calls he had received from her and had meant to call her, but with all that had happened he had not had the time to do so. Standing up from his chair he excused himself and left the room to get some privacy for the call he was going to make now.

The phone rang once before she picked up.

"Jethro…" She said breathlessly.

"Jessica, I am so sorry I haven't called before but…" Jethro started to apologize.

"No, no my love," Jessica interrupted him. "You don't have to apologize; you never have to apologize for your job. I was just worried that's all." She said realizing that her many unanswered calls were weighing on his mind.

"Have I told you lately that I love you?" Jethro said his love for this woman overwhelming him.

"No Mr. Gibbs you have not…but I forgive you for that too." Jessica said playfully. He was alright, he was alive and he was in love with her what more could a girl want.

"I am going to have to tell you more often and I am going to have to show you when I get home." Jethro returned in the same playful tone.

"And when would that be lover boy?"

"I don't know…I hope soon." Jethro replied a sombre note returning to him. "I might not be able to contact you in while, but always know that you are in my thoughts." Jethro said suddenly feeling empty and lost and wanting to hold her and tell her she was everything to him.

"I'm…just scared Jethro. Scared that if something does happen to you that…that they won't…won't know to contact me, I can't stand the thought of…"

Gibbs felt a pang of guilt hit him. He had not even thought of that. She was right, nobody would contact her to tell her if he was hurt or killed. He had to put her mind at rest on that point and was going to do it right now.

'Jessica, don't even think of that now. I'm fine and if anything happens to me Ducky will contact you I promise."

"But…but you haven't told…"

"No I haven't but I will, now, right this minute." Jethro interrupted her. "I have to go now Jesse but I will call as soon as I can. I love you, you know that."

"I know Jethro, I'm sorry I'm just being silly, I just can't bear thinking something happened to you and I would not even know. I love you Leroy Jethro Gibbs and don't you even think of not coming back to me." She said vehemently to the man she loved more than life itself.

"I love you too Jessica Marie Taylor." Jethro responded his voice betraying his emotions.

After they had said their goodbyes Gibbs left the conference room he had used to make the private call and headed down to autopsy to fulfil his promise to her. He smiled to himself thinking of what Ducky would have to say about his revelation.

Entering autopsy he found Ducky pouring over some books at his desk.

"Ah Jethro…what can I do for you.'

"Hi Duck. I need a favour." Gibbs said approaching his favourite doctor.

"Name it." Ducky responded. He did not know what Jethro wanted but whatever it was he was willing to give.

"Sit down Duck." Gibbs said taking a seat at the table.

Dr Mallard frowned slightly but did as he was bid. Jethro obviously had something serious on his mind.

"OK what is going on Jethro?"

"There is a woman living at my house. Her name is Jessica Marie Taylor, she is…well let's say is she very important to me and with any luck she will be the next Mrs. Gibbs. " Gibbs said amusement playing on his face as he watched Ducky digest the information.

"What…I mean WHAT?" Ducky said stunned, he was not even aware that Gibbs had been seeing anybody since the departure of the Colonel from his life.

"I don't have time to explain Duck, but the bottom line is if anything should happen to me…"

"Right, right I understand. Don't worry Jethro; I will take care of it." Ducky said getting the meaning of Gibbs statement straight away; he needed somebody who could inform the young lady of his demise if that should happen.

"Thanks Duck…' Jethro started but was interrupted by the ringing of his phone.

"Yeah Gibbs…" The voice on the line informed him the call had been made and they had a meeting place. They were on their way to the Directors office to discuss strategy. "Right, I'm on my way." Gibbs said as he flipped the phone closed.

"Thanks again Duck." Gibbs said as he left the room headed for the Director office.

"You're welcome." Ducky called after him as he hurried away.

Now who was this mystery woman? Jethro was going to have a lot to explain when Ducky got hold of him again. He had always been secretive and Ducky was not surprised that he had a woman in his life that he had not told anybody about, but the fact that he had taken the time to get him to agree to making sure that she was 'looked after' and make no bones about it Ducky thought, that was what Jethro was asking, indicated the seriousness of the relationship, considering the circumstances. This woman must be mean a lot to him, well Ducky thought that goes without saying. The next Mrs. Gibbs he repeated in his mind. He would have to meet this woman as soon as this whole affair was over.

Gibbs walked into the Directors office closing the door behind him. Vance watched him come in and take a seat before starting the meeting.

"So what now...?" Vance asked the group.

"We send Jenkins to the meet. We keep him covered and we take Ul Zak down there and then." Zimmerman stated firmly.

"We have to be careful here." Carter chimed in. "According to Jenkins once this thing is armed there is no turning back."

"So we don't let Ul Zak arm it." Fornell said.

"Right, what time is the meeting?" Gibbs asked not having been in the room when the call came in.

"In an hour at the address Ul Zak provided Jenkins with." Carter replied

"Good, Director anything else...?" Gibbs asked the man in charge.

"Just good luck gentlemen. Let's bring this to an end now!" Vance replied.

As Gibbs and the other agents came down the stairs from the Directors office Gibbs barked out his orders. MaGee was to stay in M-Tac and monitor by video surveillance, Tony, Ziva and Williams were to accompany the four senior officers to the scene. In the elevator Gibbs stressed that Ul Zak could not arm the bomb because once armed it could not be disarmed. They had to take Ul Zak out before he could get to the device. The agents all listened intently to the instructions and then piled into the waiting cars. Jenkins was put in the vehicle with Gibbs.

"You better do a convincing act Jenkins or so help me my first bullet will be through your brain." Gibbs warned Jenkins as they approached the house.

For his part Jenkins just wanted this over with, the Feds had agreed to protective custody and a life in jail was better than no life at all. He had heard that the Feds protective custody was like a holiday resort and he would not be in it forever. The last thing he wanted was Ul Zak to detonate the bomb; he was not ready to die. Gibbs did not have anything to worry about; Jenkins was going to look after the only person he cared about, himself.

They pulled up into the driveway, Gibbs and Fornell sinking low into the back seat of the car to avoid detection. Jenkins turned off the engine and opened the door.

"Remember Jenkins...you die first." Gibbs emphasised as the man climbed out of the car headed towards the front door of the house.

"MaGee, any movement around the perimeter...?" Gibbs asked his agent in M-Tac.

"No boss, thermal imaging shows at least four inside the house though." MaGee responded.

"Let's go..." Gibbs said as he eased the door furthest from the house open then slipped out crouching behind the protection of the vehicle as Fornell followed suit.

Jenkins reached the front door and before he could knock it opened. One big armed Arab man stood in front of him and beckoned him inside. Jenkins drew a deep breath then entered the house not looking back so as not to arouse suspicion.

"Good you are here. Arm the bomb." Abdul Ul Zak instructed Jenkins as he entered the room.

"When are you planning to detonate?" Jenkins asked stalling for time.

"That is none of your business; you are here to do a job so just do it.' Ul Zak replied his voice devoid of all emotions.

"Now hold on a minute. I don't trust you...I need to be sure that I have enough time to get the hell out of Dodge before you blow us all away." Jenkins replied bravado in his voice, he knew that Ul Zak needed him and he also knew that this was how Ul Zak would expect him to act. You can't arm the device without me and I am not about to let myself be killed by you, that was not the deal.

Ul Zak took a deep breath; he suppressed the urge to crush the little cockroach before him because he knew Jenkins was right, he needed him for now.

"Fine, arm the device; you can put a five hour timer on it, is that enough time for you?" Ul Zak asked calmly.

"Yeah, yeah that will do." Jenkins replied, careful not to push this man too far.

Ul Zak looked at the American undisguised disgust showing on his usually emotionless face. This man was willing to kill his own people for money. In his mind that just confirmed the delinquency of the American people, they had no honour at all. As for himself, well he was merely fulfilling his destiny, the infidel Americans must be made to suffer for what they were doing to his country and his people. For this honour he was willing to sacrifice anything and everything.

Jenkins moved passed Ul Zak into the back room where the bomb was being kept. He was nervous and he hoped it did not show; where the hell were the bloody Feds? Just then all hell broke loose.


	4. Chapter 4

**This is the last chapter, thank you to all of you who reviewed the story and followed it. It was great fun writing it. I hope you all enjoyed.**

**Chapter Four**

**NCIS**

DeNozzo, Ziva and Williams slowly moved around the house, positioning themselves for the time when their boss would give the 'go' signal. They all knew they had to get in as quickly as possible taking out any resistance without hesitation. Tony positioned himself at the rear doorway ready to kick it down and enter, Ziva had selected one of the big windows on the side of the building, it was one solid pane of glass and there was no burglar proofing on it. Williams had taken the same tack as Ziva, just on the opposite side of the house. Carter and Zimmerman positioned themselves to go through the front windows, both of them thanking the Gods that this house had little to no security fittings on it. Gibbs and Fornell were ready to take the main door. Gibbs contacted MaGee again confirming the positions of the people inside the house; he then let all the agents have the same information. Gibbs looked over at Fornell then whispered "Go; go; go..." into his microphone as he and Fornell barged through the front door.

**Jessica**

Altogether Jessica thought she had not had an unpleasant morning. It had started out with a breakfast meeting with one of the other Senators' aides. Gillian Fischer and she had become good friends over the years of working on the Hill together and they tried at least once a month to catch up with each other during a breakfast or a lunch. As the senate committees were meeting that afternoon it was decided on breakfast.

"So how is Mr Wonderful?" Gillian asked her best friend.

"I do not know of whom you speak..." Jessica laughed. Gillian knew all about Gibbs and she also knew how much Jessica adored him. "He is just...just wonderful." She finished with a giggle.

"Speaking of which, when am I going to meet the man himself?" Gillian asked her friend, it had been months now and still no invite. Gillian had decided if she did not push the issue she would probably never get to meet the great man himself.

"When we get a chance, honestly between our two jobs I sometimes wonder how we even get time to see each other." Jessica said wistfully. She thought of the fact that she had not seen Jethro for almost two days now and it frightened her to think she may never see him again. She knew the type of work he did was dangerous and she had accepted that, but she had a bad feeling about this latest case, a feeling that she had not been able to shake.

"Hey...you OK?" Gillian asked noting the change of expression on her friends face. "You look like somebody just stole your milk."

"No...No, it's nothing." Jessica said softly.

"We've been friends for too long for me to buy that honey. What's wrong?" Gillian asked concern registering in her voice.

"It's just that, well Jethros' job...it's kind of dangerous and sometimes I...I get this feeling that the last time we saw each other really would be the LAST time..." Jessica said voicing her fears to her friend.

"Oh that's just silly." Gillian said trying to soothe Jessica. "It sounds to me like nothing on earth could keep him away from you." Gillian knew that Jethro worked for some government agency as an agent, something like the FBI for the Navy if she recalled correctly. That could be dangerous she thought, probably was, must be like being married to a cop, never knowing if your last goodbye was the final one, never knowing if he was coming home after a days' work. She knew she could not do it, but Jessica was in love, that much was plain so she would have to learn to live with it. Jessica's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"I know that, but what if...what if he gets hurt or...or even..." She could not bring herself to say the words.

"What ifs aren't going to do you or him any good, they are just going to make you go mad. Now I say we order breakfast and think of something more pleasant, like how he is going to make it up to you having you worry so over him." Gillian said trying to lighten the mood again.

"Yes, yes I agree wholeheartedly." Jessica said. Gillian was right, there was nothing she could do about the situation and she was going to have to deal with it more and more. Jethro was not going to change who he was or what he did and she did not want him too. She loved him and did not want to lose him but lose him she would if she tried to change him.

They had finished up breakfast and said their goodbyes. Jessica had returned to her office to complete the preparations for the days' proceedings and she did not even notice the time go by. It was 2pm when the Senator walked into the office and her day really became hectic.

**NCIS**

At the signal all of the agents burst through their entry points taking the people inside completely by surprise and knocking them slightly off their game. Ziva went through the window expertly rolling and coming to a kneeling position instantly she fired her weapon putting a bullet through the forehead of one of the would-be terrorists. DeNozzo and Williams too came through their entry points almost simultaneously, both of them putting bullets in the Arab who stood guard at the door to the back room.

Carter and Zimmerman put bullets into the remaining terrorist killing him instantly and opening the way for Gibbs and Fornell to enter the back room unhindered. Stepping through the door Gibbs fired his weapon killing Abdul Ul Zak instantly seconds before he could finish the arming sequence that Jenkins had started. Jenkins for his part had fallen to the floor covering his head with his hands and praying that no bullets came his way. Gibbs approached the bomb checking to see that the arming process was not complete; Fornell reached down and pulled a shaken Jenkins to his feet.

"Render it harmless." He instructed Jenkins who immediately complied.

"Clear..." Gibbs called out to the other agents.

It was over. Four dead terrorist lay around the house, their blood pooling on the wooden floors. Abdul Ul Zak sagged lifelessly over a chair where his body had collapsed as Gibbs' bullet ripped through his heart. Ziva looked around, shrugged her shoulders and then started to dust herself off, her clothing was coated with a thin layer of dust picked up as she had rolled on the floor and small shards of glass still clung to her here and there. Tony looked around and smiled, Gibbs had done it again. Gibbs contacted MaGee at M-Tac and gave him the all clear, the Director and other agents who had been listening all spontaneously began to clap and shake each others' hands. Vance for his part sighed a sigh of relief then made his way out of M-Tac to make his report to his superior, the Secretary of the Navy. _'That was too close for comfort' _he thought as he made his way to his office.

"MaGee get Ducky down here, he has some work to do." Gibbs ordered his agent. "Then go and tell Abbs that everything is fine." He finished. He knew that Abigail would be sitting in her lab clutching her hippo in her arms dreading that either they did not succeed, or they did succeed but one or more of her team, her family would be injured or worse. Abby was like a daughter to him and he wanted to spare her any more anxiety.

Forty minutes later Ducky pulled up in his van. He got out and made his way to the house.

"I see you have left me some work Jethro." He said seeing his friend and clasping his hand.

"You know me Duck; never want to see anybody with idle hands." Jethro said shaking Ducky's hand warmly.

"Just so you know though, I want to meet this Jessica Marie Taylor, and I want to meet her soon." Ducky said as they parted ways, Jethro on his way back to NCIS headquarters to debrief and Ducky to the house to clean up the remains of the days' work.

Jethro laughed and shook his head at his friend then climbed into the waiting sedan along with Zimmerman, Carter and Fornell. They had done well today and he was feeling good, especially at the thought of going home to see the woman he loved so dearly.

**Jessica**

It had been a long day and now she was headed home. Home she thought, but an empty one. Jethro had not been able to call her all day and they only thing that she was glad about was that fact that neither had Ducky. That meant he was alright, she hoped.

Getting home she flopped down on the couch after pouring herself a glass of wine and putting on some soft music. She needed to relax, the afternoon sessions had been hell and she had been run ragged and to top all of that she had been worrying about Jethro. She had not slept well now for two nights and something had to give she thought to herself. Half lying half sitting on Jethro's comfortable couch she closed her eyes just for a moment.

Jethro entered the house quietly. He saw her relaxed on the couch and just stood watching her; his heart filling with joy at the mere sight of her. Silently he made his way over to her then leaned in and kissed her head softly.

"Welcome home my darling." She managed to get out before he covered her mouth with his.

"It's great to be home." He said pulling himself away from her for a minute to gaze into her turquoise eyes.

"Oh Jethro I was so worried, I was so scared." Jessica said pulling him into a deep embrace.

"So was I my love." Jethro admitted. He had been, not of dying not even of failing, but of never seeing her beautiful face again, of not being able to hold her and tell her how much he loved her.

"What I wonder should we do to celebrate the wayward sailors homecoming?" Jessica whispered, kissing his forehead then his cheek and gently brushing his lips with hers.

"Well the first thing this Marine is going to do is take a shower, and then he is going to claim his bounty for a job well done." Jethro said pulling himself upright and heading for the staircase.

Jessica watched him go, loving the way he moved. She sat for a few minutes until she heard the shower going. Getting up quickly she went to the kitchen picked up a beer and refilled her wine glass then followed him into the bedroom. She was going to let him know just how much she had missed him and just how much she loved him.

Jethro finished showering then donning his jockey shorts he headed into the bedroom. She was lying stretched out on the bed the bottle of beer she had brought for him standing on his night stand. Her even breaths told him that she was sound asleep. Well he thought it had been a long two days. Taking the sheet from the bottom of the bed he pulled it up to cover her, she opened her eyes to see him slip into the bed and move to within inches of her.

"Jethro..." She said sleepily as he placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Shhhh... sleep Jesse, we have our whole lives to love each other, just sleep now." He said curling his body into hers.

The two of them drifted into a deep peaceful sleep; both with the serenest of smiles on their faces.


End file.
